Ceramic articles



sept. 1o, 1935. I L. H. 'BowN 2,013,740

CERAMIC ARTICLES Original F'iled April 15, 1951 MMM Patented Sept. l0,1935 CERAMIC ARTCLES Lewis H. Bown, lEast Aurora, N. Y., assigner toBuffalo Pottery Co., Buialo, N. Y.

Original application April 15, 1931, Serial No.

530,193, now Patent 1,849,272, dated March 15 1932. Divided and thisapplication March 7 1932, Serial No. 597,097

12 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in ceramic articles, andparticularly to articles known as chinaware. This application is adivision of my co-pending application, Ser. No.

V 530,193, filed April l5, 1931, now patent No. 1,849,-

272, issued March l5, 1932.

An object of the invention is to improve such articles by increasingtheir strength for a given thickness, and to improve their appearance bythe use of dierent colors on exposed faces.

Another object is to provide improved articles of this kind havingcontrasting color areas of substantial depth, so that chipping andscratch- Ving will not interfere with color combinations or destroy thecolor patterns, which may have a variety of patterns formed bycontrasting colors, which may be inexpensively produced, and which willbe relatively simple in construction and attractive in appearance.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription oi an embodiment of the invention, and the novel featureswill be particularly pointed out hereinafter in connection with'theappended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. l is an elevation, partly in section, of a wheel or revolving diskhaving a mold placed thereon and showing the first layer of ceramicsubstance formed thereon;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the completely formed plastic articleon the mold ready Yfor drying;

Fig. 3 represents a face view of a complete plate embodying thisinvention.

Referring first to Fig. 3, an article of glazed chinaware is shownhaving a middle portion A on one face of the article formed of a ceramicsubstance differing in color from that of the body portion B of thearticle. For example, in the case of a glazed china dinner plate, thebody portion A may be made from a china body or mix of one color andshaped so that this layer will in the nal article be of approximatelyhalf the thickness of the article, and will form the middle portion ofone face of the article. The body portion B and the middle portion A areunited while the body or miX is still in wet `and plastic form, so ythatthe two layers become bonded together to form a unitary structure. Thebody portion B is made of a color differing from the middle portion Aand the body portion will, consequently, form a border around the innerportion of the article on one face of the article', which border may beof a color contrasting with that of the middle portion of the article.When any suitable or desired manner.

(Cl. llll-35) the article is formed, as hereinafter described, the otherface of the article will be entirely formed by the body portion.

By bonding these two parts of Ithe article together while the clay ormix is wet or plastic, 5

the two layers of clay or mix are united in such a manner that theybecome integrally connected. The colors of the parts of the article arenot merely supercially imposed on the articles, but extend well into orthrough the articles. Consequently, color is not removed from thearticles by scratching or rubbing the same or by breaking or chippingportions of Ithe articles, since the portion of theA article at thebreak or scratch will be the same in color as adjacent parts of thearticle. In addition to the pleasing color effects that may be producedby using two or more dif'- ferent colors of clay in the articles, it hasbeen found that articles formed of -two layers or laminations of clay orother ceramic material placed 20 one on top of the other are strongerand have greater resistance to breaking than similar articles formed ofa single mass of ceramic material. This may be due to the grain in lthetwo layers extending in different directions or possibly 25 to othercauses. It has been observed that even if the two layers oi the articleare formed of the same material, a stronger article results than whenthe article is made as heretofore of a single mass of material.

Referring to Figs. l and 2, C represents a revolving ring or wheel,preferably made of metal and mounted on an upright spindle D providedwith any suitable means for rotating the spindle, a pulley d driven by abelt c being shown -to indicate one way in which the ring C may berotated. F represents a mold made of a water absorbing substance, suchfor example as plaster of Paris. Preferably, the ring or wheel C has anupwardly extending annular beveled flange 40 5 into which acorresponding beveled annularV face E5 of the mold F ts, to correctlycenter the mold with reference -to the rotary table or ring C. The upperface of the mold may be of any desired contour, depending upon the shapeof 45 the article to be made, the particular mold shown being formed forthe making of plates.

In the making of an article in accordance with my invention, a layer lilof Wet plastic ceramic substance, which is preferably smaller than the50 ultimate article to be made, is formed on the mold F. The forming ofthis layer may be effected in For example, a bat or mass of clay may beplaced upon the mold and shaped in any suitable or desired manner.

The layer ID may, if desired, be trimmed by means of a suitable tool,not shown, shaped to give this layer a definite configuration, size andthickness, or if desired, the layer may be shaped by hand. It is alsopossible to form the layer il] on the mold by dipping the middle portionof the mold into a slip or mass of clay suspended in Water. Because ofthe water absorbing ability of the mold F, water will be absorbed fromthe slip touching the mold, leaving a deposit of clay on the surface ofthe mold. This deposit may be built up to any desired thickness byleaving the mold in contact with the slip for greater or less periods oftime, and the layer thus built up may then be shaped in any desiredmanner or trimmed with a forming tool until it has the thickness andsize desired. The edge portions li of this layer it are preferablybeveled or tapered down for reasons hereinafter stated.

After the ceramic substance for forming the layer iii has been placed onthe mold F, it is quickly shaped to the desired form, and before much ofthe moisture has been withdrawn from the layer i9 by the mold F, theceramic substance for the body portion of the article is placed on themold, the body portion also being in a Wet and plastic condition. Thismay be done in the usual manner in which articles of this kind haveheretofore been made, for example, by forming a fiat layer or bat ofclay of larger size than that required for forming the body portion ofthe article and throwing this bat down upon the mold. The contour of thebody portion of the article can then be formed in the same manner as hasheretofore been done in connection with making articles of this kindfrom a single bat of clay. Bythrowing the bat upon the mold and upon thelayer I thereon, the plastic ceramic substance in the bat Will conformitself to the contour of the mold and of the layer l!) thereon, andsince the twomasses of clay are wet and plastic, they will become bondedtogether into a unitary structure. The upper face of the body portion ofthe article on the mold may then be formed or trimmed into the desiredshape and the article is preferably left on the mold until sumcientmoisture has been withdrawn from the body so that the article willretainits shape when removed from the mold. By providing a beveled or taperingedge Il on the layer IB, the extreme edge of the layer BEI will becomeso bonded with the body portion i2 that no ridge or groove will beformed at the junction of this edge with the body portion. Preferably,the thickness of the layer I@ and the intermediate portion id of thebody i2 of the article are substantially equal.

After the article has been dried, it can be treated in the usual mannerfor finishing the same, including the steps of final trimming, ring,glazing, etc.

The clay or ceramic material used in making the layer l0 is preferablyof the same nature and characteristics as that used in making the bodyportion l2, so that all parts of the resulting articlewill have similarcharacteristics with refer- 'ence to expansion and contraction whensubjected to changes in temperature, and so that the several parts ofthe article will shrink equally during drying and will not break duringfiring. The two ceramic substances used may, however, be of diierentcolor to produce a multi-color effeot in the finished article. Thearticle has herein been described as made of two layers of differentcolors, but it will be obvious that three or more ceramic substances ofdifferent colors may be employed Without departing from this inventionby superimposing successively larger layers on the mold.

I claim as my invention: 5

1. A glazed and fired article of chinaware having relatively broad andthin, integrally bonded layer sections of contrasting colors butsubstantially the same clay composition, abutting face to face andhaving their abutting faces overrunning one another and with theoverrunning face of the overrunning section completely covering the edgesurface of the other section and forming a substantially abruptless andliush continuation of the exposed face of said other section, saidsections being united face to face while plastic.

2. A glazed and fired relatively thin article of chinaware havingoverrunning, integrally bonded, thin, sheet-like laminations ofdifferent colors, and formed of china bodies of substantially the sameclay mix united to one another while plastic and glazed on all exposedsurfaces.

3. A glazed and fired, relatively thin article of chinaware formed ofintegrally bonded, sheetlike, overrunning laminations of contrastingcolface of said article so as to produce a pattern,

said article being glazed on all exposed surfaces.

4. A glazed and fired relatively thin article of chinaware formed ofsuperposed thin, sheet-like laminations of different colors, integrallybonded on their contacting faces, said laminations being l Y formed ofchina bodies of substantially the same clay mix, overrunning one anotherin an exposed face of said article, united face to face while plasticand having Visible areas of preformed, selected shapes by selection ofthe manner of overrunning and producing a Well defined pattern in saidexposed face.

5. An article of glazed and fired chinaware having a relatively thinreinforced wall portion, comprising a plurality of sheet-like layers ofchina bodies of the same nature and characteristics bonded together,said layers being substantially coextensive with the reinforced portionand united face to face while plastic.

6. A red plate or similar article of glazed I chinaware comprising athin sheet-like layer of a china body of one color and co-extensive withthe lateral dimensions of the article, and a relatively thin and smallersheet-like portion of china body of another color but of the same natureand characteristics embedded until flush in an exposed face of saidlayer, and united thereto while both layers are plastic.

7. An article of fired chinaware having a body portion of the samenature and characteristics throughout, a portion of which is of lesserthickness than other portions and has a lamination of the same natureand characteristics integrally bonded thereto across the portion oflesser thickness, said lamination having a bevelled edge merging intothe surface of the body portion to form a flush joint therewith.

8. An article of chinaware having thin walls with a smooth face andcomprising a plurality of sheet-like layers of contrasting colors` andformed of plastic china bodies of the same nature and characteristicsapplied face to face and united while plastic and overruning one anotherin the interior of said smooth face with iiush junctions at the pointsof overrunning to form a pattern on said surface, said article being redto provide an integral bond between abutting faces of said layers.

9. A ired article of chinaware having a thin wall formed of overrunningsheet-like layers of a china mix of the same nature and characteristicsbut of different colors united face to face While plastic, the color ofeach layer being uniform throughout the thickness of the layer, and thefaces of the layers overrunning in the interior of the face of saidchinaware and merging in a flush relation With one another at the pointsof overrunning.

10. A red article of chinaware having a thin wall formed of overrunningsheet-like layers o-f a china mix of the same nature and characteristicsbut of different colors united face to face while plastic and ush withone another at the junctions, the color of each layer being uniformthroughout the thickness of the layer, the faces of the layersoverrunning in the interior of the face of said chinaWare and merging ina flush relation with one another at the points of overrunning, one ofthe layers at any overrunning edge having a feather edge providing aflush junction of the surfaces where the layers overrun.

11. A glazed and fired relatively thin article of chinaware havingoverrunning, integrally bonded, thin, sheet-like laminations ofdifferent colors and formed of china bodies of the same nature andcharacteristics united to one another face to face While plastic, one ofthe laminations at any overrunning edge having a feather edge merginginto the abutting lamination with a flush joint.

12. A fired article of chinaware having a thin Wall formed of separatelyformed thin layers of china bodies of the same nature andcharacteristics which are united face to face While plastic and beforefiring.

LEWIS H. BOWN.

